High School Never Ends
by darensgirll
Summary: Four years and you think for sure, that's all you've got to endure. Takes place five years after graduation at Grant High School. Follows the stories of Amy, Ricky, Jack, Grace, Adrian and Ben.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own **any **of the characters or the show! The story switches POV often. Narration will be done by several characters throughout the story. Takes place 5 years in the future after Amy, Ricky, Adrian, Ben, Grace and Jack have all graduated. Thank you and enjoy!

Chapter One

I couldn't help it. It was so gross. I felt like **her**. Just like her. I found myself gazing out the window at them both, tongue in tongue, touching each other. Is that how I used to touch Ben? Was I really that bad? I tried to look down at the floor, look in back of me, but I just couldn't look away. It was like their love was a magnet, a magnet that attracted me into watching every move they made, every little peck, every little gaze.

Five years had passed since I graduated high school. I'm a twenty-three year old woman with an eight year old child. John's eight now, and such a wonderful child. John has given me the best years of my life. Ever since my difficult split with my boyfriend of three years, Ben, he was there. He was there when I came home from school. There when I ate dinner. There when I brushed my teeth. There when I fixed my hair. There for all of the tears, there for all of the lies. There for all of the pain. You learn to appreciate those things, you know. Especially when you have a baby at fifteen. I can't say I'd go back in time though, because I wouldn't. John is the best thing to ever happen to me, and I'd never trade it for the world. It's hard taking care of a baby yourself though. I'm not exactly alone in the process, but sometimes I might as well be. "I'll be right back, running next door." "I'd really like to stay, Amy, but Adrian.. it's just that, I promised her.." Every word out of Ricky's mouth left me speechless, nothing else to say. How was I supposed to respond to that? "Good, go see your slut instead of your son." Sometimes, I wished I would've had the courage to say something like that, but I didn't take chances. Now, don't get me wrong, Ricky's a good guy, an amazing father to his son, but it's hard raising John. All of the questions of why his mommy and daddy don't kiss, don't sleep in the same bed, don't make each other breakfast, don't call each other to say goodnight. Sometimes, I feel that a part of me is jealous of Adrian. Ricky has told me a few times he'd thought I'd been jealous. I simply answered by rolling my eyes and mumbling, "No, I'm not" under my breath. But, who wouldn't be jealous of Adrian? She's got everything. She's super beautiful, super successful, she has a happy love life, great friends, and did I mention her love life? It.. it's not like their married or anything, from what I hear he doesn't even want to be married. But at this point, they might as well be. They're always kissing and holding hands. She's always there to greet him at the door, him swifting her off of her feet, pulling her into one of those dramatic kisses you see in the soap operas. One of the, "I thought I'd die without you" kisses. Only, he'd been gone for a few hours. Why do I always look at them, you ask? I couldn't answer your question, to be honest. It's like a stage. My house is the chair, I'm in the audience, and Ricky and Adrian are the main act, the spotlight. How could you take your eyes off of a love so beautiful? The thing is, you couldn't...

* * *

It made me so sick to admit I still missed him after five years. Five years. I wanted to slap myself everytime I thought five years. I'd been attending college to eventually become a doctor. A pediatrician, actually. I'm almost done with medical school, but lately, I've been slacking. He's been on my mind. Him. All the time. I always said to myself, "Grace, you're too good for Jack. There's other fish in the sea, you'll find another guy." Jack was the first guy I loved, the first guy I had sex with, my first kiss, first dance, first date, first, well... everything.

My best friend, Adrian, always told me to go out there, explore new guys, see what I could find. I responded by calling her a hypocrite, simply out of jealousy. She found her guy. She was happy. He was happy with her. I was happy for them. Sure, the both of them kissing on my couch when we're watching a movie together might be a little weird, but you get used to it after awhile. Adrian and I went out for some coffee recently. We were in a small cafe, and there were a pile of magazines next to us. Adrian being Adrian had to look at the barcode on the bottom to see who's name the subscription was to. She then picked up a magazine I wasn't familiar with. _Modern Wedding_, I think it was called. Yeah, that's it. Of course, Adrian gets really excited the way Adrian's do. She points out a long dress and a beach setting. "This. This is what I want." I just nodded and took a sip of my coffee, that actually tasted so bitter I could throw up. "Ricky would love this. He loves the beach. I wonder if.." And I cut her off. She knew why I had cut her off too. Not that I didn't want to hear about a ceremony celebrating the love between my two best friends. I just wasn't in the mood for wedding talk. As a matter of fact, I wasn't in the mood for any talk.

* * *

"Amy, Amy Juergens." I couldn't keep the page open much longer or the crease in my senior yearbook would be so bad that it'd never open without a squeak as loud as a truck again. I quietly closed the book, drifting away from the picture and it's astonishing beauty. That picture was my girlfriend. Well, what used to be anyway. Amy Juergens was her name, and boy, what a girlfriend she was. If I could relive those three years I'd spent being her boyfriend, I can honestly say I would. Over and over again. I used to imagine living alone for the rest of my life, the old jerk down the block with twenty-seven cats, yelling "You kids!" everytime one crossed my property. When I was with Amy, that image had left my mind. I had found the girl I wanted to be with forever. If only she had felt the same way back. It's not entirely her fault. She has a kid, ya know. John. What a character. He's such an amazing kid, sometimes leaving me wishing he was my own. If it weren't for John, maybe Amy and I would be together, married at twenty-three. Or, maybe we wouldn't have met at all. I don't like to think about that, though. Not meeting her. Her beautiful face was in my mind all the time, and lately, more than ever. Like my step-mom, Betty, once told me, "You always want what you can't have." This was one of those moments. I simply cannot have Amy. She has a son. With Ricky. She needs to focus on her son more than a silly boyfriend lost in love like me anyway.

Somedays, my longing for Amy to at least give me a call or send me an email or a simple text saying hello left me in such a depression that I couldn't eat. I lay awake at night, dreaming about the family we could've had. The life we could've had. Dreaming that she'd be there for me to hold, to stroke her hair, to wake her up in the morning and say, "How did you sleep, my darling?" That would all just remain simply a fantasy, as I haven't even heard from the girl in two years. Since her 21st birthday. The night of her 21st birthday.

Today, I'm just going to sit here. Sit next to the closed yearbook, thinking about the page with her picture. The beautiful Amy Juergens. The girl I met freshman year. The girl I fell in love with, the girl I longed to be with for the rest of my life. The girl that was so beautiful no summer's day could compare. The girl that left me standing because she "needed to think about things". The girl that left me with "I might have feelings for Ricky, I just.. I'm sorry." The girl that hasn't called me in two years. The girl I shouldn't even bother with anymore, but can't stop.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own **any **of the characters or the show! The story switches POV often. Narration will be done by several characters throughout the story. Takes place 5 years in the future after Amy, Ricky, Adrian, Ben, Grace and Jack have all graduated. I had to go write a Chapter 2 right away, because my first chapter leaves you off with such a cliffhanger. AND, I **_had_** to include Grace/Ben in here somewhere ;) There will be Grace/Jack interaction for all of you Grace/Jack fans! Hope you're enjoying the story!

Chapter Two

She was never in the room when we were together, but she might as well be. I could've let her sit on the extra couch, watching him stroke my hair, giggle with me, go in for a peck, and then tell me how beautiful I had looked. But I didn't. I just saw her glance from the window next door over and over in my head. It was usually a look of disgust. A look of anger. A look of "Hey, Ricky, get your ass over here and help me with _your _son."

"Adrian, what's wrong with you today?" I was seated on his lap. His hand was rested on my leg, our faces almost touching.

"I-it-it's just too early. That's all." I bit my lip.

"Too early to kiss?" Ricky had a look of confusion in his eyes and began to squint. Sometimes, I enjoyed seeing him confused. His squinting habit was awfully adorable.

"I-I'm just not into it. Look, there's something I have to.."

"Save it." Ricky looked kind of annoyed, grabbed his leather jacket off of the coat rack and headed for the door. "You're obviously not feeling well, so it's okay." He leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Get better soon, okay?"

His sincere smile at that moment meant a lot to me, and I nodded, "Okay, I'll get better."

"I love you." He leaned in for another kiss.

"You too." And I quickly shut the door and ran for the window. She wasn't there. She was never there. Not when I wanted her to be, anyway.

* * *

"Mom, everything's fine." "Yes." "No." "Tell him hello." "No." "No." "Love you too." "Ok." "Ok." "Bye mom." That was the normal phone conversation for me and my mother. Don't get me wrong here, I love the woman, but her asking about my love life and if it's improved since the last time tends to pull some loose strings. To just relax a bit, I drove my car into the parking lot of a convenient store. I pulled the keys out of the ignition and walked into the store.

I quickly walked into the back section, where they held all of the cards. My eyes rolled into the back of my head. _More romance bullshit, great._ I saw dozens of cards meant for sharing between husbands and wives and girlfriends and boyfriends only. The store was quiet, not too many people standing around, so I decided to open one of those singing cards. _At Last_ by Etta James blasted out, leaving me startled and quickly closing the card. I had to admit, though, these cards _were_ pretty adorable, and getting one or two a year wouldn't hurt so badly.

Just as I was about to go out the register to try and find a pack of gum, I heard the bell on the door ring. I recognized the face as soon as the door closed. "Ben? Ben Boykewich?"

"Wow, it's you. Grace Bowman."

"It's me." I giggled, checking Ben out. He looked great, and I didn't hesitate to admit that to myself. Just as I was about to compliment him, he opened his mouth.

"Still with Jack, huh? I see you have one of those anniversary cards in your hands."

My face quickly flushed. "Uh-uhm, no." Ben looked puzzled, but continued smiling. "I wa-was just looking, that's all. I-I must've forgotten to put it back."

"So, that means you're single?"

I found myself no longer flushed and smiling. "Uh, yeah. That means I'm single."

"Well, you look great. Just great. And how long has it been? Two, three years since we've last seen each other?"

I laughed yet again, "Two years and three months, actually."

I found myself quickly writing down my number for Ben Boykewich, next to a check-out counter in a convenience store, giggling and suddenly filled with happiness. Better yet, I found myself wondering how in hell I remembered exactly since I last saw him.

* * *

I didn't want to leave. I wasn't even done with her. I still wanted to hold her. I still wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked. I still wanted to kiss her, over and over. But, I figured I'd do whatever she wants. She didn't look too well anyway. I decided leaving would probably be best. Whenever I left Adrian's, there was always one other place I could look forward to going.

"Ricky's here, Amy!" I heard Amy's mother, Anne, call out to her daughter.

"I'll get the door, grandma!" I then heard my eight year old son, John, call out.

I was greeted with a big hug from John, who was growing up so fast each and everyday. He was starting to look more of a combination of me and his mother now, his auburn hair and light brown eyes, with just a few of his mother's tiny freckles on the sides of his nose. I had to admit, I'm glad he took after both of us, because his mother is rather beautiful, and I can't say I'm so bad looking myself these days.

"H-hi, Ricky." Amy came out from her room carrying a laundry basket. "H-how are you?"

"Hey, I'm fine. You look tired, let me--" Amy put her hand up to stop me.

"I don't need help. I can do this all by myself. Just like I do everything all by myself."

I had to stop her there. "Everything?! So I never give you money for John's things? I never come by to see him? Amy, what the hell are you saying? Do you hear yourself?"

I saw Amy's face drop, and her eyes start to tear. "I-I'm sorry. I w-wasn't thinking. You do help with John, it-it's just that it's hard."

At that moment, looking at her sad countenance I stopped myself. "Oh. I know what you mean."

"Yeah, I think you do. I think you know how hard it is for me when John asks why mommy and daddy aren't married, or why mommy and daddy don't share a bed like other parents, or why mommy and daddy don't kiss." Amy got silent, and looked down at the laundry basket.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say." I found myself looking down just as Amy had.

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go do some laundry and finish cleaning. I-I'll see you later."

"Bye Amy." I took a deep breath, waved to my son who was sitting in the living room playing a video game, and walked out the front door.

* * *

Running into an old friend from high school would be no big deal. But running into Grace Bowman, that was a big deal. To me anyway. Grace and I haven't seen each other in awhile, but I remember everything like it was just yesterday.

It was sophomore year, and Amy and I had taken a break from each other. It just so happened that at the same time Grace and Jack put their relationship to a halt. We started hanging out more, becoming closer, opening up to each other. One day, we were over at Grace's house, just talking after school, and this day is the reason why I don't think I'll ever be able to forget Grace Bowman.

"I-I guess everything happens for a reason." Grace looked up directly into my eyes.

"I guess, but Amy, I thought she was the one. I-I thought I would marry her, and have children with her, and adopt John, and..." I stopped. I stopped to look at Grace's eyes, now damp with tears.

"You saying all of those things about Amy just reminded me how I used to think of Jack. I thought we would get married, travel together, have babies, buy our first home together. It was love. It was."

I looked away from her eyes. "Yeah, but what can we do? Things happen, right?"

"I guess." She paused and gulped. "Do you ever see yourself with someone else?"

"Someone _else_?" I lifted one eyebrow and looked right at Grace. "Someone as beautiful as... you?"

Grace smiled at me, and it was the most beautiful smile I had received in quite a while. "You think I'm beautiful?"

"You're **very** beautiful, Grace. I hope you know you're beautiful." I looked her straight in the eye this time, making direct contact, waiting to see what happened next.

"Well, you can never tell who will fall in love with whom."

I smiled a half-smile. "No. You can't."

Grace stood up. We had both realized it was already six o'clock, and I had to be home. Before I walked out the door, Grace ran her hand up to my face, caressed me gently, looked me in the eyes with a beautiful stare and kissed me.

I remembered us both blushing after that kiss, leaving us in a giggle. It was a long kiss, not one of those really really exaggerated ones, but long enough. Our lips seemed to have fit perfectly within each other, making it hard to let go. We didn't use tongue, just lip, but it was perfection in itself.

"Goodnight, Grace Bowman."

"Night, Ben Boykewich." I looked back at Grace biting her lip and quickly closing the door, wishing I could repeat that kiss over and over and over again.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I do not own **any **of the characters or the show! The story switches POV often (every break). Narration will be done by several characters throughout the story. Takes place 5 years in the future after Amy, Ricky, Adrian, Ben, Grace and Jack have all graduated. Thanks for such positive feedback! I know I haven't put in Jack's POV yet, but I'll get to it, I promise! I also wanted to interpret ideas coming from the SL Fan Forum boards, with different problems and not just sexual problems. Hope you're enjoying the story!

Chapter Three

Typing my paper for class was getting really hard with many distractions piling up in my head. All I could think about in my head was what had happened just hours before. I couldn't get the image out of Ben in my head. _Damn_! I thought in my head. _He looked fine!_ I simply had to block out those thoughts and try focusing on my research paper. The phone rang, making the quietness in my apartment disappear.

"Grace?" I couldn't quite make out the voice, so I just stayed quiet. "Grace. It's me, Jack."

"Y-you have the..."

"Don't tell me I have the wrong number. Adrian gave me your number. I know this is you."

I felt myself gulping really hard this time. "Fine. Wh-what do you w-want Jack?"

"I just wanted to see how everything was. We haven't talked in awhile, and I don't know. I kind of, well, miss it."

Those words hit me the most. I stayed quiet for a short second. I wanted to tell him I was thinking about him the other day, but realized that might sound a little odd. "So, then, let's talk. How've you been Jack?"

"You're really not as bubbly as you used to be, huh?"

My voice went quiet, yet again. "It-it's just I'm so busy with school and work and family, and I don't know, I'm, well... lonely."

Jack made a smirk, and I could picture the look he probably had on his face from over the phone. "Lonely, huh, Grace?"

"Lonely." I started to drift my eyes away to my work, but still longed to finish my convo with Jack. I held the phone with my shoulder, began typing and listened to what he had to say.

"Well, you kind of left me hanging. We had sex, I loved you. But, we just, drifted off. Had different ways of relationships, I guess." Jack got as quiet as I previously did.

"Jack, I've been..." I started to say.

"Hold on Grace, I've got another call. It's important. Talk soon?"

"Mhm." Annoyed, I put the phone back on the charger and began hitting away at the keys.

* * *

Every time he left the house, I wasn't the only one who was annoyed. I could tell John was annoyed, too. He'd love for his dad to come, spend time with him, maybe spend a little time with mommy, too. Or, maybe that's what mommy wanted. I finally decided I was going to talk to John about this, about how I felt, how he felt, I had to, I couldn't keep this in any longer.

"John, can I talk to you sweetie?"

His eyes barely strayed away from his coloring book, "Ok."

"How would you like it if mommy and daddy took you somewhere special this weekend? Just the three of us." I already was thinking to myself that it'd be a bad idea, but it was for my son, and I owed something to John.

"Like where?"

"I was thinking, maybe we could all go to..."

John interrupted me here. "Why don't we just stay home? Why don't we ever _just _stay home? Together. The three of us."

I looked my son in the eye and tried to feel the hurt he was feeling. "Baby, listen, mommy and daddy try to..."

"My friend from school once told me that him, his mommy and his daddy all watched a movie one time, and made popcorn and had candy and talked and laughed, and it was fun!"

"John, we do that all the time. Me, you, Ashley, Grandma, Grandpa, Robbie.."

John rose up from the coloring book and looked me straight in the eye. "It's not the same! It'll _never _be the same mommy!"

* * *

"Adrian?" I kept calling her, and this time, she finally answered, sounding half-awake.

"Ricky, I-I'm sleeping, can you.."

"No, I can't. This is serious." I needed to know. I had to know.

"What? What's so serious that you had to call me at three in the morning? It couldn't wait?"

She began having an attitude now, but I just couldn't wait. "Adrian, are you.."

"Am I _what_?"

Her attitude worsened. "Pregnant. Are you pregnant?"

I heard a bang, and suddenly the phone was disconnected. I had my answer.

* * *

_Grace Grace Grace, pick up!_ I thought to myself. It was four in the morning, but I figured she'd might be up doing her paper for class, or wondering about Jack or love or some other subject.

"Hello!" She sounded more bubbly than ever.

"Hi, Grace. Listen, I need to tell you..."

"Jack called me Adrian! Jack called me! He told me you gave him my number. We talked, but it wasn't anything major, it was..."

"Ricky knows." I had to interrupt her.

"Oh God."


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I do not own **any **of the characters or the show! The story switches POV often (every break). Narration will be done by several characters throughout the story. Takes place 5 years in the future after Amy, Ricky, Adrian, Ben, Grace and Jack have all graduated. Thanks for such positive feedback! Thanks for all of the positive feedback- I know I haven't written in awhile, but here I go! I got some inspiration from some speculation on the Secret Life forum.

Chapter Four

"I-I just can't believe it." I kept pacing back and forth in her kitchen, making her nervous. "You didn't have to be afraid. You could've..."

"I could've what? Told you that I was having your baby?" Adrian paused, and I heard a huge gulp. "You already have John, Ricky. I couldn't come between that. We're not even married and..."

I grabbed her hair, which was in her eyes, and as I wiped it away, I started to notice tears forming. "You know I love you, right?"

She looked down to the floor and began to cry more, and I felt myself getting emotional.

I grabbed her hand into mine, stroked the back of it with my thumb. "We can do this. We can raise this baby together."

* * *

I was afraid he had seen me, so I quickly shut the blinds, leaving them all tangled in each other. As I closed them, I wondered what their conversation could've possibly been about. They both looked as if they were crying. Ricky _crying_? It must've been serious.

I quickly pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, hitting the dial pad. "Pick up, pick up, pick up." I mumbled under my breath.

"H-hello?" I heard a sniffle, and a quiet hello came out of Ricky's mouth.

"Ricky, can you come over? John wants to see you."

"Yeah, I'll be right over Amy." Another sniffle.

Just as he was about to hang up, I opened my mouth. "I-is everything okay?" I tried to be as sympathetic as possible. As much as I didn't really care to hear Adrian and his relationship problems, my nosiness had gotten to me.

"It's Adrian."

"Wh-what about Adrian?"

He took a deep breath, paused for a short while, and then cleared his throat. "She's pregnant. It's mine."

Before he could say anything else, I quickly blurted out, "It's okay, I'm gonna take John out. Forget about that visit."

* * *

"So, how many weeks is she?" I couldn't even answer his question, hearing his voice itself was distracting enough.

"Huh?"

"I said, how many weeks is she?" I heard a sigh from the other end of the telephone. "Grace?"

"Sorry, Jack, it's just, I got so excited you had called me back, and you know I love Adrian and Ricky, but I thought we'd talk about..."

"Us."

I gulped. "Yes, us." I put aside all of my other thoughts and decided to tell Jack how I felt. "What happened to us? We-we were so in love, and we j-just let it go. We m-made a promise, a-and I mean, everything was going great, j-just great."

"Grace, please."

I didn't let him talk, as I interrupted his thought again. "Do you miss me?"

"Do I _miss_ you?"

"Do you miss me?"

"Do you even _have_ to ask?"

* * *

Three weeks had passed, and a stressful three weeks they were. I've been working extra lately, just to help out with Adrian and the baby.

"Adrian, open up! It's me."

I saw her hand open up the door, but I couldn't spot what she was holding in her hand.

"Hey sweetheart, you look beautiful." I kissed her, and had the urge to rub her slightly-showing stomach, but I stopped myself.

"Here's the doctor's bill." She unclasped her hand, shot me a fierce look, and looked down back at the ground.

"This-this has to be a mistake. Y-you're only eight or so weeks, right?" I could tell Adrian was just as confused as I was.

"The sonograms cost **so** much, and all of the vitamins and care. Ricky, I-I'm so sorry."

I looked at her face, saddened with twinkling eyes that still captivated me. "No, we'll take care of it. I mean, me. I'll take care of it. And you. Of course, you."

She pulled me into a hug. It was a hug so hard I thought at this point we would be doing damage to the baby.

As I tried to let go, she only pulled me back in harder.

"I love you. So much." At that moment, she looked up at me and smiled. I returned the smile, noticing what she was doing. She gently grabbed my hand, smoothing her fingers over my cold skin. "Feel it."

I gently put my hands to her stomach. At first, I wasn't feeling anything at all, but when I felt a gentle kick, I got a feeling inside. A feeling I've never gotten before.

"That's our baby, Ricky. That's the baby."

I placed my hand further, rubbing her stomach. "Yeah. **Our** baby."


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I do not own **any **of the characters or the show! The story switches POV often (every break). Narration will be done by several characters throughout the story. Takes place 5 years in the future after Amy, Ricky, Adrian, Ben, Grace and Jack have all graduated. Thanks for all of the positive feedback, it means a lot! The scenes get racier as the story goes on, so the rating might change. But, enjoy! Adrian's problem would be one I'd REALLY love to see her face on the show, so I decided to include it in here. Nothing's perfect, right? ;-)

Chapter Five

"I can't make it. I'm sorry."

"But John, he was counting..."

He didn't even let me finish. "It's just, Adrian and the baby. Can you believe I'm having another baby? A **baby**!"

"Yes, I can. Just wonderful." I silently rolled my eyes to myself. I knew Ricky and Adrian weren't ready for this baby. Heck, Ricky couldn't even come to visit his first baby.

"I've been working so much, just to help out. I really hope it's a girl, a girl would be nice. Although, I'm gonna be **so** protective of her, all the boys will be chasing her, I know it. I'm just, so excited. It's unbelievable, overwhelming actually!"

He had no clue how much I had wanted him to shut up at that very moment. Some would say I was selfish, that I didn't want to take care of my son all by myself. That's not the case at all. It's just that my son needs a father figure in his life. Without Ben around anymore, Ricky's the only one he's got. Who's gonna show him all of the things I can't? Who's gonna talk about those little things that are not meant for mommies to discuss with sons? My dad's busy enough with Robbie, who just turned seven, so he's out of the question. Ben, I haven't talked to him in God knows how long. It'd be rather rude of me to call and say, "Hey, I know we haven't talked in forever, but I need help raising my son, so you're hired!"

"Amy? Amy?" Ricky's voice suddenly made me feel a tingle of vibration in my ear.

"Yeah, sorry, I just..."

"It's fine, no explanation needed. I'm gonna head to work."

"Bye?" I said it more as a question, because I didn't know if he wanted me to hang up at that exact moment.

"Bye, Amy. Have a nice day."

I didn't know if it would be _nice_, but hey, it's worth a shot.

* * *

Going out for Panera would never be a big deal to me, as it was mine and Adrian's hot spot all of senior year. Today was different. Today, I waited in the dim-lighted booth in the corner, next to the marble fireplace, burning a small patch of fire. I tried to stop my uncontrollable habit of tapping my foot up and down. Anyone who was near me would guess my movements were caused by Tourette syndrome. I slid my cup of coffee over, grabbed the stirring stick and started moving it swiftly in the cup.

"Grace?" I heard a voice from behind me.

I quickly dropped the stick into the cup and wiped my mouth on the napkin in front of me. "Jack! Hi!"

When I looked at his eyes, they were twinkling. The moment I gazed into them, it reminded me of the night we had sex for the very first time. His eyes were the same exact way- twinkling with passion. "_You did so great, Grace. You weren't scared at all. **I love you so much**." _Those words repeated in my head over and over as I waited for Jack to speak.

"Y-you look **fantastic**. Did you dye your hair?"

_Did I dye my hair?!_ "N-no. Sit, sit, have a seat." I tapped the spot on the cushioned bench next to me.

He took off his jacket as I waited patiently in the booth. As he was ready to slide into the booth, he hesitated.

"Like I said, just fantastic." Jack reached over and hugged me. And it wasn't an ordinary hug, either. I sat as he stood, my face wrapped in the warm space between his stomach and arm-muscle. I quickly warmed up inside, not wanting to let go.

I slowly pulled away from the hug. "You too, Jack. You too."

* * *

When I opened the door, she wasn't excited to see me. If I hadn't had the key, she wouldn't have opened it at all.

"Adrian, why are you all alone on the couch? I thought you said you had stuff to do?"

A sniffle is all that came out of her.

"Is that tissue? Baby, that's tissue."

Adrian lifted up her head to reveal an eyeful of tears.

"You're crying. Why are you crying?"

As I placed my hand on her shoulder, she started crying harder. I let go.

"Well, don't wipe it on your shirt. Here, here's another tissue." I handed her a fresh box of Kleenex off of the coffee table, helping her avoid to wipe her tears all over the Dodgers sweatshirt I'd let her borrow months before.

She grabbed the tissue and wiped her eyes, which was useless, because her tears came down even harder.

"If you don't wanna talk, I'll come back later." I kissed her forehead, got up off of the couch and was ready to head out the door.

"No." A single word came out of her mouth.

"No?"

"No."

I was getting confused. "Baby, please. If it's about the baby, I can help you. I have my job, I'm getting paid a good amount of money, I'm..."

But, just when I didn't want her to have to say a word, she did. "Feel it."

I knew what she meant, so I slowly pressed my hand against her stomach. "I-I don't f-feel it."

"That's 'cuz you can't." She pressed the tissue to her eyes again.

"You can't what? I don't get it, just explain, 'cuz I..."

"You can't."

"I know, I just said I can't. But, hey, that's okay. The doctors say you're not supposed to feel it all of the time, right?"

Just when I said that, her tears began streaming down her face onto her neck. "Ricky, I'm so sorry."

I went closer to her and let her bury her face on my shoulder. I stroked her hair, although still awfully confused.

"The baby. She's gone."

"Gone?" My countenance dropped, as I let go of Adrian from my shoulder. "_Gone?!_"

"It's a miscarriage, Ricky. Look it up on Google."

"_What?!_" I tried to be as strong as possible around her, but all of the hurt was starting to show.

"Please, don't yell. It's n-not my f-fault. R-really." She bit her lip and curled up in a ball on the couch, burying her face in her knees.

"Is that why you weren't gaining weight like you were supposed to? I-is it gonna damage you? Is it out? Or in? Did they..."

"They took it out, this morning. Ricky, I felt like such a jackass! I was walking around with this baby in me, I loved that baby you know. And I love you. We were gonna be parents! And now..."

"Sh, sh." I went over to her and kissed her forehead softly. "It's not your fault, it's not your fault."

And she cried harder.


End file.
